TheEssentials of Chinese Medicineisa textbookintendedforinternationalstudents who wish to gain a basic understandingof Chinese Medicine (CM) at the university level. The idea of writing such a text was originated from the Sino-American C- sortiumfor the Advancementof Chinese Medicine (SACACM), whichwas founded in February 2000. In 1995, the British Hong Kong Administration set up a Prepa- tory Committee for the Development of Chinese Medicine to look into ways of bringing Chinese medical practice and herbal trade under proper control and r- ulation. After the reuni?cation of Hong Kong with mainland China in 1997, the Governmentof the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region continued the efforts to uplift the practice of CM to a fully professional level through legislation. To help bring up a new generation of professional CM practitioners, the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) obtained approvalfrom the Government'suniv- sity funding authority to develop a School of Chinese Medicine to prepare students who will meet the future professional requirements through public examinations.